Jurors hear apology of 'Serial Shooter' to surviving victim

by Amanda Lee Myers - Jul. 21, 2009 03:25 PMAssociated Press

Jurors mulling the death penalty for one of two men convicted in a series of random shooting deaths that terrified Phoenix listened Tuesday to his letter to a victim, in which he apologized but said he would make “no cries for mercy.”

Samuel Dieteman, 33, faces death or life in prison for his role in the so-called Serial Shooter attacks in 2005 and 2006, which left eight people dead and many more seriously injured. Dieteman pleaded guilty to two of the killings.

“I've taken lives, destroyed lives, caused unimaginable pain to people,” Dieteman wrote to Paul Patrick, who nearly died when he was shot in the side while walking down the street in June 2006.

“No appeals, no cries for mercy,” the letter continued. “As I have shown none, I deserve none ... I'm sickened by my own actions, by my own reflection in the mirror.”

Dieteman was the key witness against co-defendant Dale Hausner, who was handed six death sentences earlier this year for the random 14-month shooting spree.

The attacks unnerved Phoenix as hundreds of investigators tried to crack a case in which prosecutors said Hausner preyed on pedestrians, bicyclists, dogs and horses during the violence that occasionally included Dieteman.

Detective Clark Schwartzkopf, the lead Phoenix police investigator in the case, read the Jan. 9, 2009 letter as part of his testimony in the sentencing phase of the trial.

Patrick has become the face of all the victims in the attacks and attended every day of Hausner's trial. In March, Patrick suffered a stroke, possibly as a result of the shotgun pellets still in his body.

Although in a wheelchair and unable to speak above a whisper, Patrick has been attending the penalty phase. When asked what he thought of the letter, Patrick told The Associated Press: “Too little. Not enough.”

But he added, “I appreciate that he took responsibility.”

Schwartzkopf also testified that Dieteman was Hausner's follower and committed two of the eight killings in the case. He also said that Dieteman was instrumental in Phoenix police's investigation.

Dieteman's attorney, Maria Schaffer, also asked Schwartzkopf to describe what life behind bars would mean for Dieteman, who is there as “one of the most notorious snitches” in Arizona's prison system.

Schwartzkopf said Dieteman will either be completely isolated from other inmates, or in danger if he's allowed to be around them.

Schaffer also described Dieteman as following Hausner, saying in opening statements that he was “living under the awful specter of Dale's influence.”

Prosecutor Vince Imbordino tried to emphasize Dieteman's role in the crimes Tuesday in his questioning of Schwartzkopf, who said Dieteman abused alcohol and meth before he met Hausner and that Dieteman knew Hausner was committing killings before he himself joined in on the crimes.